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US industrial output takes a dive

US industrial production has fallen sharply, a fresh report by the Federal Reserve has shown. The figures were released just hours before an expected announcement on whether the Fed would raise interest rates.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that industrial output in the world's largest economy, including factories, mines and utilities, dropped by 0.4 percent in May, thus reversing a 0.6-percent gain a month earlier.

The May figure provided a potentially worrying sign that manufacturers in the US kept facing tremendous economic challenges.

The drop in output indicated that earlier assessments the US economy was turning around after a period of extremely weak performance might have been premature.